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JUNE 2005

Boneparth (R) rings bell at New York Stock Exchange as John Thain (L), President of
the NYSE Foundation looks on

Corporate  Leaders  In  Education
An Interview with Peter Boneparth, CEO, Jones Apparel Group

By Nazneen Malik

Poised with gavel in hand, Peter Boneparth, President and CEO of Jones Apparel Group, Inc, stands in the balcony overlooking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the commercial capital of the world. At exactly four o’clock, he rings the closing bell, signaling the market’s close with the pounding of his gavel.

Earlier in the afternoon, Boneparth announced the launch of Jones New York In The Classroom, the first corporate-wide program dedicated to improving the quality of education through teacher recruitment, retention, and recognition. Education was an issue where we thought that we could make a difference, says Boneparth, and our research indicated that funneling resources towards teachers would be most valuable. He also relates a few perturbing facts about the challenges facing the educational system today, and more specifically, the difficulties that teachers encounter. Research indicates, he says, that over the next decade the nation will need more than two million teachers; however, nearly fifty percent of teachers leave their profession within the first five years. In addition, teachers spend roughly 1,200 dollars, on average, of their own money to equip their classrooms.

The Jones New York In The Classroom program, offers both monetary support and access to human resources to combat these problems. Jones Apparel Group employees are allotted up to three hours of paid time off each month to donate their time to communities and schools. Employees in distribution centers and retail stores have already begun taking initiative, comments Boneparth. From bake sales to face painting, they are starting to raise money in their local communities to give to schools and other educational endeavors. In addition, the Jones Apparel Group has partnered with four non-profit organizations who share a similar vision—a teacher-centered approach to improving education. These organizations include: TeachersCount, Teachers College New Teacher Academy, Fund for Teachers, and Adopt-A-Classroom.

“We believe that over time we will be able to elevate the stature of teaching, and these organizations will be able to provide tangible resources that will improve teachers’ experiences,” states Boneparth. Teachers will have access to grant programs that will enhance their professional development, and be given the support and recognition they deserve so that they can be effective educators. Through Adopt-A-Classroom, teachers will receive a 500 dollar stipend for classroom supplies and equipment.

Troy Richards, Teacher, with students Tamasia Johnson & D’ashley Moreira

“I think that a company of our size has a responsibility to try to do something,” says Boneparth, “we benefit greatly from the workforce and the talent pool throughout the country, so we have a vested interest in the educational system. We need to give something back to that.”

Indeed, the Jones Apparel Group, has already begun. “We wanted to adopt an entire school to make a statement locally,” explains Boneparth. Perusing mission statements of various schools, they selected The Global Enterprise Academy, housed in Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, due to its heavy focus on business related education. “The idea is to build a lasting relationship,” he says, “and not only will we continue working with students there, we are also going to be bringing the students out of the school to visit places like NYSE.” In addition, the Jones Apparel Group will also offer internships. “We want students to have that experience so they can apply what they are learning in school to the real world,” he adds.

The response has been wonderful. Troy Richards, a Computer Arts teacher at the Global Enterprise Academy, is among those who will be receiving a 500 dollar stipend as part of the Adopt a classroom program. “The people at Jones are really interested,” he says, “and they are coming back and showing us that they want to work with the students.”

Tamasia Johnson, a ninth grader at Global Enterprise Academy is excited about the program, especially the internship opportunities. “I want to be a fashion stylist,” she says with certainty, “and an internship will help.” Ninth grader, D’ashley Moreira, shares her enthusiasm and wants an internship to learn more about business.

“We want to be leaders in this field and we want to have other corporations join us,” says Boneparth. “For us the pride of authorship is less than the pride of leadership. We spent a lot of money up front to create an infrastructure that could support a much bigger program because we want to grow and we want long term visibility for teaching as a profession.”#

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